Of Flowers and Goodbyes
by a shadow eagle
Summary: Inoichi watches his daughter's life pass by as she visits him in his grave. Post Fourth Shinobi War. SasuIno.


A/N: I got inspired to write this story in light of the previous chapters. Can we please sit still for a second and admire Ino's badassery during the previous chapters? I'm really impressed with her so I gave in into this random idea that came to me in the middle of the night. I started writing and then before I knew it, it became ridiculously long. Oh, and I'm _still _obsessed with SasuIno so they ended up being the couple in this. Well, enough of my rambling, and let's get on with this. ^_^

* * *

Of Flowers and Goodbyes

0o0o0

The first time she visits him, her eyes were red from crying.

She doesn't say anything; she just stands there and stares. Every now and then, she'll open her mouth as if to speak but then her shoulders would end up quivering so she decides to just stick to silence.

He wanted to reach up and brush those unshed tears away just as he did all her life, but he knows he'll never reach her.

Never again.

So he settles into watching her, hoping that someone would come to brush her tears in his place.

0o0o0

She does that every day since the first.

She'll come to him, stand on her usual spot and stare at him for hours. Each day, she carries a different flower that he knew she planted herself. And each day, he watches as she slowly loses the light in her eyes.

She never spoke a word to him. Sometimes she'll try, but then her eyes will return to the same broken look it had when she first visited. Instead, she'll lay the flowers carefully beside him.

And for now, that's enough for him.

0o0o0

After two months of silent visits, she comes back.

She's crying this time. Hysterical. Drunk.

_Broken._

It's raining hard and it's dark and all he wanted to do is to yell at her to go back home where it's safe. But she starts talking, and he finally hears her voice again.

"I hate you."

His heart stops at her words. And he almost laughs at the irony of that.

"I hate you so much. Why did you have to go? Why did you have to leave? Why… Why did you leave me?" she whispers the last part.

He wanted to grab her. To hug her and whisper to her ears that everything is going to be alright.

"Please come back. I can't do this on my own. They made me clan head. I… I can't do this without you."

She was sprawled in the dirt now, tears and rain and mud covering her face. And she cries and cries and cries. He doesn't know how much time has passed but she repeats two words all over again, fading in and out of consciousness.

"Please, Dad."

0o0o0

The next time she visits, she looks better.

She lays the customary flowers beside him before standing up and giving him a small smile.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to come back sooner. Things were kinda hectic back at home. Man, dad, you didn't tell me that it was this tiring to be the clan head. Haine-sama kept nagging me the whole time about etiquette and a lot of stuffs and Hotaru-sama kept making me read all those boring reports and," she continued complaining and pouting at him and he smiles at her.

"I still don't think that I can do this on my own, dad," she whispers to him.

_You're strong, Ino. I know that you can do this._

She just smiles at him.

"I wish you were here."

0o0o0

It's half a year since her last visit when she comes back.

She's wearing a different uniform this time. A uniform he'd recognize anywhere.

"I've joined the Interrogation Division, dad. Today's my first day on duty," she grins at him.

"Haine-sama and Hotaru-sama weren't too happy about it though. Something about it taking too much of my time off the clan works. But Ibiki-sensei and Anko-sensei managed to convince them to let me join. They really need good interrogators and they think I'm the best for the job," she smiles with a hint of pride.

"I won't tarnish your name, dad. I'll make you proud."

_You've made me proud a long time ago, Ino._

0o0o0

It was two full years since her first visit before she comes back.

She's different.

When she looks at him, he could see the same look that he saw in the mirror during his first few years in the Interrogation Squad. Eyes that have seen too much, innocence that was broken the moment one enters into a killer's mind.

"I got promoted today," she says almost monotonously, playing with the ANBU mask in her hands.

"I guess Naruto finally saw how in-demand I am so he finally got me my own squad," she shrugs.

"Well, I just thought I'd let you know, your girl's an ANBU Captain now," she smiles and he almost recoils at the fakeness of it.

She didn't give him flowers that day.

0o0o0

The next time she visits, someone came to pick her.

She was still in her ANBU uniform, mask and all. Blood stained her clothes and he judges the she just came back from a mission.

"Hey dad, we just won a war against a coup d'état," she mutters.

He stops at that. War? Hadn't they fought for peace just two years ago?

"The Kages were really angry. They hated the idea of a small group daring to destroy the peace that everyone worked hard to achieve. Tsunade-sama even came back from retirement to help. It was an easy victory, that group never stood a chance against the five nations."

She laughs hollowly, "I was assigned to a team to kill the leader. They wanted to know every reason for his actions so I scanned his mind before my partner killed him. I saw that he went to war because his little son got caught in a minor scuffle between shinobis and died. The ninjas never apologized and the Kages never had the time to talk to him about it. It was the same for the others who helped him, they fought for revenge."

She became silent then as she removed her mask. He notices that her bright blue eyes have turned into a dull shade of gray.

"Ino."

They both turned as a raven-haired young man walked towards her. She looks at him before nodding and turning to leave.

But not before leaving a single daffodil for him.

0o0o0

She comes again a few months later.

She looks different again, more relaxed. Her ANBU uniform is clean and glistening, her hair tied perfectly and her eyes seem to reclaim some of its light.

"Hey dad," she smiles at him before starting a very long story about her previous mission with her partner.

"I mean, I know that we have to work together since my abilities compliments his but he is just so insufferable. Every time he smirks, I can totally tell that he's nurturing his ego while thinking of degrading thoughts about me. Sure, he's quiet and he's very useful during missions but his mind is like a self made shrine that worships himself. This just proves my theory that silent types have the loudest minds. I even caught him thinking about the upcoming movie of Icha Icha Paradise once. He's going to go see it with Naruto next weekend, by the way. Ugh! They are so annoying," she rants.

She continues to talk and he just watches her with a smile on his face. This person in front of him is no longer the broken girl from a few months back.

_Welcome back, Ino._

She stops her rant and stares at him before smiling.

"I feel like the past two years ate me up quite a bit but I'm back dad. And I think I'm going to be okay."

She gives him a bunch of blue irises before she leaves.

0o0o0

Her visits became regular again. Not everyday but often enough.

She always comes with a new story about a mission or reports about her clan. Sometimes she just sits there and relaxes.

Most of the time, she stays for hours and, each time, the same raven-haired young man would come to pick her up when it gets dark.

Uchiha Sasuke.

He'll never forget that face along with the crimes and memories that came with it. He never intends to forget, but he's the man that comes to pick his daughter every night that she stays too late. The man who has been her mission partner for probably a year now.

He's been keeping his daughter safe so he guesses that he'll tolerate him for the time being.

0o0o0

She comes with that kid a lot lately, he notices.

At first he just arrives to pick her up but then it came to the point where he just accompanies her all together.

"Hey dad. I brought someone with me today," she says the first time she brings him along with her. She gestures beside her where a pair of onyx eyes were staring at him.

"I'm sure you know him dad. This is Sasuke, he's my partner," she introduces.

"In more ways than one," the bastard retorted at her.

His daughter blushes and he wants to punch the Uchiha in the face for making his little princess uncomfortable. But then the kid surprises them both when he bowed in front of him.

"It's an honor to meet you."

That doesn't erase everything that he did in the past, but that small gesture impresses him a bit.

But only a little bit, he still wants to punch the bastard in the face.

0o0o0

It became regular for them to visit him at least once a month. They come in exact dates so he knows when to expect them.

They make it a point to come together if given a chance but there are still some rare instances when she'll come to him alone.

She arrives alone once and she smiles at him while laying the flowers in front of him. Red roses this time.

She starts to tell him something about their clan but then she stops and blushes.

"I have something to tell you, dad."

He tries not to feel the sadness of losing her when he hears her next words.

"It's Sasuke. I think I've fallen in love with him."

0o0o0

This goes on for a few more years. They visit while he listens to her stories.

He watches with no surprise as his daughter falls even more in love with the young man that she takes along with her every visit.

What surprises him is the fact that he also watches the young man to fall equally in love with his daughter right in front of his eyes.

He still wants to punch the Uchiha in the face. But maybe, just maybe, she finally found someone who could brush her tears away in his place.

0o0o0

It's almost seven years since her first visit when the Uchiha kid visits him alone for the first time.

The young man still bear resemblance to the revenge driven brat he was years ago but he looks relaxed this time. Brighter. As if the weight on his shoulders was finally removed.

Yet those shoulders were currently tense as he bows once before speaking.

"I apologize for only visiting you now," he starts, "But I know that you should be the first one to know this."

"I'm in love with your daughter," he says confidently before reaching for his pocket and bringing out a small box.

His eyes widened at the sight of it, he knows that box and the meaning behind it. And for the first time in quite a long while, he wanted to punch the Uchiha in the face again.

"I'm proposing to her tonight and I have all the intentions of marrying her if she says yes," the bastard says before bowing again, "I'll make her happy. I hope that you're okay with that."

He should've known that this would happen sooner or later. He saw it in the way they acted around each other.

_Take care of her._

The wind blows, almost menacingly, and the Uchiha stops in his tracks before glancing back at him.

"I love her. Don't worry, I'll take care of her. I promise."

0o0o0

She visits him alone the next day.

She's all smiles and rainbows as she chatters about the weather.

_You're marrying him, aren't you Ino?_

She grins sheepishly, "Sasuke asked me to marry him yesterday."

_You're marrying him._

"I love him, dad. I really love him."

_You're marrying him._

"The wedding will be in three months, dad."

_You'll lose the name Yamanaka. You're marrying him._

0o0o0

It took her four months before she comes back again.

"Hi dad. I'm sorry it took me so long to visit. We just came back," she blushes beet red.

_Are you happy?_

She starts chattering about the wedding and the honeymoon and everything.

_Ino, are you happy?_

"I love him, dad. I'm happy. I feel like I finally put my life back together."

He smiles sadly at her words.

"But I still wish that you were here."

She leaves him with Forget-Me-Nots that day.

0o0o0

It was another year and a half before she comes back.

This time, a little raven-haired boy with all too familiar bright blue eyes was snuggling into her arms.

He jumps in surprise. Is that… Is that…

She grins at him before turning to the little kid, "Satoshi-kun, say hello to grandpa!"

The baby tilted his head confusedly before burying it into his mothers neck.

"Sorry dad, he's still a bit shy, it's been so long, how are you?"

It's the first time in all of her visits that he ignores her completely and just stares at the bundle in her arms.

_Satoshi._

So his princess is finally somebody else's queen.

0o0o0

She comes alone again in a few weeks.

She's carrying a bunch of flowers this time, more than usual. She smiles at him before laying them down.

"I couldn't come earlier because I needed to plant these. They're in season, and they're your favorites. Right, dad?"

He stares at the bunch of Cosmos lying in front of him. Indeed, they were his favorite.

"I can't believe it's been so long. Since the war, I miss you dad. I really do," she whispers.

He stops at that. Panic rises in his chest as he waits if a glimpse of the broken girl from years ago will appear again in the woman in front of him. But nothing happens and she just straightens before beaming at him.

"I never really talked about this but I was really devastated when you left," she smiles sadly as she gazes at the sky.

"But I'm better now and I'm really happy. And I think, no, I _know_ that I'll be okay."

And at those words, he realizes that she's finally letting him go.

He smiles. So his work is finally done.

_I love you, Ino._

He reaches out and touches her face for the first time.

The wind brushes her face and sweeps her hair to reveal sparkling blue eyes.

"I love you too, Dad."

* * *

A/N: And there it is. Like it? Hate it? I sure hope you liked it. Share your thoughts and review! Reviews are yummy! I like to eat them to make me feel better!

Thank you for reading!

A sHaDoW eAgLe


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